When a New York City bicycle messenger picks up an envelope at Columbia University, a dirty cop becomes desperate to get his hands on it and chases the messenger throughout the city.

My Take:

Dodging speeding cars, crazed cabbies and eight million cranky pedestrians is all in a day's work for Wilee (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), the best of New York's agile and aggressive bicycle messengers. It takes a special breed to ride the fixie - super lightweight, single-gear bikes with no brakes and riders who are equal part skilled cyclists and nutcases who risk becoming a smear on the pavement every time they head into traffic. But a guy who's used to putting his life on the line is about to get more than even he is used to when his last envelope of the day - a routine "premium rush" run - turns into a life or death chase through the streets of Manhattan.

I caught only glimpses of the trailer for Premium Rush when it was released this summer. It must have been the teaser and what I saw didn’t leave me with a burning desire to see it despite the presence of Joseph Gordon-Levitt who I like. I didn’t read anything about it prior to receiving it for review and I went in with reserved expectations. Conceptually speaking there is nothing original about the script and the characters are simply drawn within the context of the plot. The core of the story revolves around Wilee, a NY City bicycle messenger who inadvertently gets caught between a desperate, crooked NYPD detective’s quest for an item he is now trying to deliver and the importance that it reach its destination. Along the way are chases through crowded city streets/sidewalks, rivalry among co-workers, and a bit of mystery surrounding the reason that the item Wilee is carrying must not fall into the wrong hands.

As I mentioned there isn’t much depth to the plot/characters however there is plenty of excitement found in its execution. The idea of building the story around NY City’s bicycle messengers was a good one. They are essentially modern day cowboys with a bit of a crazy streak which is aptly conveyed in the film. The stunts and camerawork are slick, stylish and at times thoroughly engrossing. Formulaic or not everything comes together neatly as it is quite obvious that the purpose here isn’t melodrama or a complex narrative but establishing a viable correlation between the characters/plot to the primary focus, adrenaline rushing bike riding. Co-writer/director David Koepp and cinematographer Mitchell Amundsen pull off the action and visual elements with aplomb. The cast isn’t a who’s who however the choices hit the mark with the possible exception of Michael Shannon who tried a little too hard to be convincing in the role of dirty detective Monday.

Premium Rush isn’t an especially memorable film however while you’re watching it makes for a compelling and ultimately entertaining thriller that might just raise your pulse a few notches.

Parental Guide:

The rating is for some violence, intense action sequences and language.

**My audio/video ratings are based upon a comparative made against other high definition media/blu-ray disc.**

Audio: 86

(Each rating is worth 4 points with a max of 5 per category)

Dynamics:

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Surround Sound presentation:

Clarity/Detail:

Dialogue Reproduction:

Video: 90

(Each rating is worth 4 points with a max of 5 per category)

Resolution/Clarity:

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Compression:

Premium Rush comes to Blu-ray Disc from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment featuring 1080p AVC encoded video that has an average bitrate of 25 Mbps and lossless DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio sound that has an average bitrate of 2.1 Mbps.

This is a high quality video presentation that seems a perfect match for the source material. Colors are deeply saturated with eye pleasing vitality and delineated depth. Images are resolute, with stable sharpness, crisp detail and appreciable subtle refinement. Certain scenes appear better resolved than others although I suspect this is related to the photography. Contrast is dynamic without being overpowering and blacks are respectable in depth with discernible detail visible in low lighting and shadows. I didn’t see any signs of video related artifacts and thought that in general video quality was excellent.

The high resolution DTS-HD MA soundtrack is on par with the video and sounds full bodied, and articulated. Lossless audio provides the opportunity to thoroughly appreciate the potential inherent in digital movie soundtracks. This presentation delivers crystal clear sound that is rich in sonic detail and effortless dynamics. Excellent tonal balance makes pans across the left, center and right channels appear seamless. Bass reproduction is taut and on occasion exhibits a robust low end. The mix makes frequent use of the surrounds to reproduce the discrete and ambient sounds contained within the soundtrack. I enjoyed the enveloping nature of the audio and feel that the integration between the front and rear soundstages is spot on.

Bonus Features:

(HD) The starting line – 9 minute featurette

(HD) Behind the wheels – 12 minute featurette

Ultraviolet Digital Copy

Final Thoughts:

Premium Rush is a formulaic genre film that eschews deep storytelling in favor of compelling visuals and adrenaline raising thrills that result in an entertaining 90 minute experience. It races onto Blu-ray from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment featuring resplendent high definition video, engaging lossless surround sound and a pair of featurettes that look behind the scenes at the production. I can’t say that Premium Rush qualifies as a blind buy but it’s worth checking out on Blu-ray so place it at the top of your rental queue and take it for a ride.

Ralph - Thanks another quality review.
As a result - this one will be a red-boxer or VUDU for me.
There's not many action-filled popcorn flicks that are suitable to watch with youngsters/teenagers in the room
Sounds like this one is a fit

Will have to rent this. Thanks, Ralph! I actually found the trailer pulse-quickening when I saw it in one of my newer Blu-rays (don't recall which one), and also like the fact Gordon-Levitt is in it. Let's check it out!

Thanks for the review. I think this may be a niche group movie, because as you mentioned you didn't have any expectations for the film and didn't really have much interest after seeing the trailer/teaser. Being a bicyclist this movie just screamed out to me that I had to see it. A lot of folks on the cycling forum I visit were also pretty excited for it when trailers/teasers were released. For a movie that you can just sit down and be entertained for 90 minutes or so, I think it does the job. I've been looking forward to bringing this home since I saw it at the theater.

@cuzed2, if I recall, there was a bit of swearing, I don't remember if there was too much effing and jeffing, though. Just a thought depending on how old/young your kids are.

It was a pretty good movie that borrowed heavily from the old Quiksilver flick. In fact it was basically the same movie for the most part. Just an updated version of it. I guess maybe they should have called it Quiksilver and promoted it as a reboot.

I understand the need for bike messengers to get certain items across town in a moments notice. But all he was delivering was a movie ticket with a little happy face on it. Why couldn't they just call the other other party, and just say "Hey, she's paid her 50 grand, the kid can come on over!" Or just scan it and then email it? I mean really, it's just a movie ticket with a happy face on it!!! And in addition to that, why was this movie ticket worth 50 grand to the other asians if that 1 detective was able to get it to them? That I really don't understand. I mean if he succeeded in getting it to them, what would they be able to do with it to make 50 grand off of it? Afterall, those other asain guys had the 50 grand already in cash from Jamie Chung's character. What could they have done with that movie ticket to make it worth 50 grand to them??? Those 2 plot points made no sense to me at all. I guess that's the only concepts the writers could come up with though to give the movie it's basic premise...

I bought this bluray several months ago, so this is a great reminder for me to pop it in the ol' Oppo. Michael Shannon has become one of my favorite actors, and in my opinion JG-L is already one of the best character actors on screen today. I don't know if JG-L really gets the credit he deserves, maybe because he was so prominent on television when 3rd Rock from the Sun was so popular...I dunno. But seems like whenever I discuss film with my buds, his name never comes up unless I make a case for him. When you consider his body of work, everything from Killshot, to G.I Joe, to Hesher and 500 Days of Summer, it's clear that he's someone with TREMENDOUS range. I find him to be extremely charismatic and look forward to each and every performance.